Edmonton Minute: Budget Troubles, Immediate Resignations, and a Week Long Meeting

Edmonton Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Edmonton politics

This Week In Edmonton:

• The new Council is set for what could be an incredibly long meeting this week. This week's City Council meeting will begin on Monday at 9:00 am, but could potentially continue all the way through Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as well. The agenda will be Council orientation and dealing with the auction of 151 properties for tax arrears.
  
  
• There will, however, be a brief break in the giant City Council meeting to consider Agenda Review Committee business from 8:00 am to 9:00 am on Tuesday.
  
  
• Finally, the City is still accepting applications for the Edmonton Economic Recovery Grant which gives small businesses up to $2,000 to offset the cost of pandemic-related closures and renovations, and extra staffing related to the "Restrictions Exemption Program" (aka, vaccine passport).

Last Week In Edmonton:

• We finally bid "adieu" to the outgoing Council as the new Mayor and Council were sworn in last Tuesday. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said supporting people with addictions, tackling climate change, and improving safety on city streets are some of his top priorities.
  
  
• City Staff love to put a controversial tax decision in front of a new Council every four years when they're still figuring out the job, and this year will be no exception. One of the first tasks facing the new City Council is how to deal with an expected $75 million revenue shortfall for 2022, in part due to COVID-19. Council will have to decide whether to cut wasteful spending, raise taxes, or some combination thereof to square the budget circle. We have a guess which they'll pick.
  
  
• Finally, an Edmonton Catholic Schools trustee in Ward 73 resigned suddenly from her position, just one week after being acclaimed to it. Trustee Carla Smiley did not give a reason for her resignation. Board Chair Sandra Palazzo said the board was considering next steps to ensure representation for Ward 73.

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